


Coulrophobia

by TwoDaysTooLate



Category: The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
Genre: Gen, I'm really writing this in 2020, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Thriller, jimmy neutron - Freeform, rated pg 13 for language and spooky imagery, spooky scary, the adventures of jimmy neutron boy genius
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:02:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23654302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwoDaysTooLate/pseuds/TwoDaysTooLate
Summary: Everything at the carnival was fake. Well, except for that one thing...
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	1. The Best Laid Plans

________________________________________________________________________________________________

The rain never lasted long enough to make an impact, except to create fog. Every morning before dawn the dense fog sat on the horizon, overtaking everything until the first light of day caused it to wane. The heat itself was not unexpected, as Retroville was hot ten months out of the year and windy for the two, but the humidity was an unfamiliar beast. The small town was known for dry summers, and the inhabitants reacted in a manner befitting any sort of change: poorly with much complaining.   
Jimmy, Sheen, and Carl sat under a tree in front of the Neutron house. All of the fourth of July festivities has ceased days ago, and the trio had nothing to occupy their time.  
“Carl, should you be sitting on the grass directly? Don’t you need your ground towel?”   
“Nope!” The bespectacled ginger said happily. My new allergy medication makes me totally immune to the inflammatory properties of grass.” He squeezed a bottle of sunblock onto his hand. “Unfortunately, it only lets me stay awake for four consecutive hours before I fall asleep for the next six.”  
Sheen looked up from his phone, “And your doctor… suggested this?”  
Carl rubbed the sunblock onto his arm. “It was either that or spend the entirety of summer break living in a plastic bubble.”   
Jimmy shook his head. “I can never tell if you’re joking.”   
Sheen continued to stare at his phone screen. “Guys, not to be gross, but I’m sweating through my shirt. Can we please find something to do not outdoors?”   
“Like what? There’s never anything on TV that we can agree to watch together, and my mom says that she tired of seeing me sit around drafting blueprints.”  
“What are you working on, Jim?” Carl asked.  
“A cryogenic chamber so I can freeze myself and wake up when the heat isn’t so intense.”  
Sheen scoffed, “In this economy?”  
Jimmy and Carl stared in disbelief for a moment.   
“Um yeah, it was a jest. It’s too hot for me to properly brainstorm anything. Besides, Carl’s banned from my house.”  
“How was I supposed to know that pie was your mom’s state fair entry? I was just sitting on the kitchen table!”  
“Next to her entry form.”  
Carl crossed his arms. “How can I be expected to resist apple spice? I’m only human.”  
Sheen chuckled. “Yeah, Grandma’s taken over the kitchen to make her jams and pickles. Says I’m not allowed to hang around because my ‘chaotic vibes’ contaminate the canning process. So we can’t hang out there. And Carl’s house sucks.”  
“Hey!”  
“You know it’s true. We could go to the movies. At least it’s air conditioned there.”  
“We don’t have any money, Sheen.” Jimmy rolled his eyes. “But we could go to the library.”   
“Ugh!” Sheen flung himself onto his back.   
“Face it, gentleman: this town was not developed for the entertainment of youth. If one is not in possession of a vehicle or funds, amusements are few and far between. We might as well do something useful and get you two started on the summer reading list.”  
“Or we could just sit here and watch grass grow like we have been,” Sheen countered.  
Carl glanced at the device in Sheen’s hand. “You haven’t been watching grass grow, you’re obsessively scrolling through Libby’s Instagram feed.”  
“Hey!” Sheen snatched his phone to his chest. “I’m not obsessive!” It pinged. “Ooh, a new post.”  
“Sheen, give it a rest.” Jimmy really didn’t want to spend the rest of the day listening to his friend wax poetic about Libby Folfax’s divine visage and witty captions. “She hasn’t invited you to do anything since the first week of summer break. Leave the poor girl alone.”  
“But she’s across the street. Look.” He held up the screen. The square image revealed Libby and Cindy lounging on a pool float, their eyes covered by dark glasses.  
“So what? They’re probably in Cindy’s pool.”  
“So, maybe they’ll let us swim with them.”  
Carl shook his head. “Chlorine makes my skin burn.”  
“It’s a salt water pool.” Sheen stood up and shoved his phone into a pocket.  
“Why do you know that?”  
Sheen was already gamboling across the street.   
Jimmy sighed heavily. “We’re going to have to follow him.”  
“Or we just let Mrs. Vortex shoo him away with a broom again.” Carl smiled.   
“Carl!”  
“No one lets me have any fun,” he pouted.  
The two made their way to the back fence of the Vortex house, where Sheen stood. Upon closer inspection, he was animatedly shouting over the gate to an indifferent Cindy.  
“Oh C’mon!”  
“It’s not my rule, but in this instance, I’ll happily enforce it.” She seemed to notice Carl and Jimmy approach. “Oh no. No no! All three Stooges need to exit stage left!”  
“What are you even trying to reference?”  
“What are you doing?” Jimmy interjected.  
Sheen gestured to the gate. “I very politely asked to be let into the back yard and she won’t let me.”  
Cindy crossed her arms. “I already told you: no boys allowed in the pool area. Also, no one invited you to come over here!”  
“She’s right Sheen, let’s get back to Jimmy’s house.” Carl pointed across the street.  
“No way! We’re bored!”  
“That’s not my problem!” Cindy exclaimed.   
Libby chose this moment to join the group at the fence. “What’s with all the shouting? Oh, hey Sheen.”  
He winked and made finger guns.   
Jimmy rolled his eyes. “Guys, let’s go before Cindy’s mom breaks out the broom.”  
“Her mom’s not here.”  
“Libby!” Cindy turned her glare onto her friend.  
“What?”  
“If she’s not here then why can’t we come in?” Sheen asked.   
Cindy closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. “My parents left this morning for a two-week cruise to the Bahamas for their twentieth wedding anniversary. I’m not allowed to have anyone over here except Libby. Also, to reiterate, NO ONE TOLD YOU TO COME OVER!”  
“They’re leaving you on your own for two weeks?” Carl enquired.  
She shrugged. “I’ll be fine.”  
Jimmy considered this for a moment. “If your parents are out of town, how would they know if you had people over?”  
“That’s cute. You think there aren’t surveillance cameras in this back yard?” Cindy gestured to the porch lights.   
“The Vortex police state aside, what are you ladies up to this evening?” Sheen leaned on the fence before losing his balance.   
“Triple locking the doors,” Cindy said.  
Libby rolled her eyes. “Well, when we finish this regrettable interaction, we plan to grab dinner then binge-watch crime dramas while doing pedicures.”  
“Oh, could you do mine?” Carl asked. “I have a stubborn callus that just won’t go away.”   
“No.”  
“As exciting as that sounds, I have a stimulating proposition.” Sheen grinned.  
“Gross.”   
Jimmy grabbed Sheen’s arm. “What are you doing?”  
He shrugged off the hand and reached into his pocket. “My dad found this under his windshield wiper.” He pulled out a colorful flyer. “Look! The carnival is in town. It opens tonight.”  
“A what?”  
Libby reached for the paper. “What are you talking about? The county fair doesn’t set up until October.”  
“It’s not the fair. I guess it’s independent or something.”  
“Oh no!” Cindy shook her head, “No way! I do not do carnivals. The rides are rickety, the food is disgusting, and it’s a safe bet that every person working there has lice.”  
Jimmy glared at his friend. “We were sitting at my house for three hours and you didn’t mention this.”  
“I was gonna get to it eventually.”  
“I don’t know Sheen. Cindy makes a good point,” Carl said.  
“C’mon guys! There’s nothing to do here and the state fair is three hours away. Nothing cool ever comes here!”  
“Which is why we should maybe be suspicious about the timing of this thing,” Cindy interjected.  
Jimmy scoffed. “You’ve seen too many horror movies.”  
“Or maybe you haven’t seen enough horror movies!”   
Carl spoke up, “So maybe we should stay home and have a movie night instead of going to the creepy carnival.”  
“You don’t know that it’s creepy!” Sheen bellowed, “I don’t get you guys. We only have so many summer nights left before school starts. Do you wanna sit around doing nothing, or take a risk and have some genuine adventure?”  
They all stared at Sheen for a moment as his breathing regulated.   
Libby was the first to speak, “I guess that could be fun.”  
“You don’t seriously want to go to this thing?” Cindy asked.  
“Maybe?”  
Cindy and Libby shared a glance. “Confer?” Cindy asked.  
The two girls stepped away and spoke in hushed tones for a few minutes.   
Jimmy glared at his grinning friend. “So you just assumed that Carl and I would agree to go with you tonight?”  
“Kind of.”  
“Sheen, are you only doing this to hang out with Libby?” Carl asked.  
“No! Like I said, I want an adventure… and if I get to hang out with Libby, it’s just an added bonus.”   
“I think you’re making the colossal assumption that they want to spend time with us.” Jimmy watched as the girls repeatedly shook their heads. “The only reason Cindy hasn’t drop-kicked you across the road is that the school counselor dared her to go the entire break without resulting to violence.”  
“How do you know that?”  
“Know what?” Libby asked as the two reappeared at the fence.   
“Nothing.”  
Cindy scowled. “Alright, after much deliberation and ignoring of common sense, we have decided to join you on this ill-fated endeavor.”   
“Don’t sound excited or anything, Vortex,” Sheen said. “I promise we’ll have fun. Also, we need a ride.”  
Cindy rolled her eyes once more. “A great start to a great plan.”  
Libby chuckled. “I can probably borrow my mom’s car tonight. You guys just be here at seven.”  
“I have to ride shotgun or else I get car sick.”   
“Carl, you’re uninvited.”   
________________________________________________________________________________________________


	2. A Little Sincerity

Jimmy checked his watch for the third time as the three boys sat on the stoop of the Vortex front porch. “Guys, we’ve been waiting for fifteen minutes. Let’s just go home.”  
“Libby texted that they’ll be out in a sec,” Sheen said.  
Carl shook his head. “This is probably just an elaborate prank.”  
“You think everything is an elaborate prank.”  
“It usually is. Pulled by you, Sheen. I can’t eat potato soup anymore without worrying that it’s just glue!”  
“Ha ha! Good times.”  
Before an argument broke out, Libby opened the front door and came down the steps. “Sorry for the delay, guys. Cindy’s still on the phone with her mom. I forgot she’s gotta call every night at seven so that Mrs. V know we haven’t been kidnapped or home invaded. I had to say hi.”  
“Is that really the most effective way to ensure safety?” Jimmy asked.  
“It’s in my best interest to not question Vortex logic.”  
Cindy chose that moment to come outside, shoving her phone into a canvas bag. “Are we going to stand around all night or are we going to the creep circus?”   
The group walked down the path to where Libby’s Civic was parked. Sheen walked around to stare in the back window. “Hey, quick question: why are we squishing into this tiny car when there’s a spacious mid-sized sedan in the driveway?”  
Cindy pushed past him and threw open the door. “No one is using my mom’s car! If the speedometer gets moved at all, it has to be because either the house burned down or hell froze over. Now squeeze in, nerds.”  
Sheen, Jimmy, and Cindy situated in the back seat, which despite the adequate number of seat belts was clearly not intended for three people. Libby flipped on the radio and an upbeat pop song filled the vehicle.   
Jimmy attempted to shift himself without elbowing anyone. The attempt was unsuccessful.  
“Ow!” Cindy rubbed her arm before moving as close as possible to the door. “How long is this trip going to take?”  
“GPS says about thirty minutes.”  
She crossed her arms. “Great.”   
Carl turned to look at the people in the back seat. “We could play license plate bingo.”  
“We could play leave Carl on the side of the road.”  
“Don’t you get carsick from looking out the window?” Jimmy asked.  
“Oh yeah,” He turned back.  
“So, Vortex,” Sheen asked, “What’s the deal with you being home alone?”  
“I’m not fielding questions at this time.”  
Libby’s voice filtered into the backseat. “Don’t start, Sheen.”  
He held up two hands in assurance. “I’m just wondering if you’re gonna use this golden opportunity to throw an epic party.”  
Cindy’s head whipped around to glare at Sheen. “First of all: no. Second of all: I’m not all alone. If I really need anything, I can call my aunt. But I won’t need anything because Libby’s staying with me.”  
“And your mom agreed to that?”  
Libby chimed in, “Momma agreed so long as I get all my chores done and we don’t have a party.”   
“You both realize how bizarre this all sounds, right?” Jimmy asked.  
Cindy let out a loud sigh. “Not that it’s anyone’s business, but I was supposed to teach at a beginner karate camp this week. But the roof of the dojo collapsed last week, so everything’s suspended until it gets fixed. By the time I found out, it was too late to make other plans. Someone has to housesit.”   
Sensing her agitation, Jimmy decided to change the subject. “So, what’s the plan for tonight?”  
Libby shrugged. “I guess it depends on what’s there. Sheen, what does the flyer say?”  
He attempted to dig the folded paper out of his jeans pocket, elbowing Jimmy in the process.  
“Here we go, ‘Thrills a Minute Carnival,’ home of the Scream-icane roller coaster and the fried éclair.”  
“That can’t possibly be healthy.”  
“Jimmy, what’s the difference between a circus and a carnival?” Carl asked.  
The other three groaned.  
“Well, Carl, a carnival consists of independent concessionaires and ride owner, while a circus is an autonomous business. Carnivals have their roots in medieval agriculture fairs, but traveling carnivals that have become synonymous with state fairs didn’t emerge until the 1893 World’s Columbia Exposition in Chicago.”   
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The remainder of the drive consisted of Jimmy providing facts about the history of the fairs while the others chiming in with snarky rejoinders.   
They finally pulled into a dirt lot with several rows of cars divided by orange cones. Cindy leapt from the cramped back seat the second the car was in park. She took a moment to stretch her legs while the rest of the group collected themselves. They followed the trickle of people to the area entrance.   
It looked like a low-budget version of the county fair that set up in Retroville every fall. There were rickety looking off-brand rides and numerous stands with bright neon signs advertising greasy food.   
Carl made a mad dash to the petting zoo sign, which resulted in twenty minutes of watching him talk to rabbits.   
“I’m going to call this one Mr. Fuzzles, and this one Herbert, and this one-“  
“Kid, I told you, the rabbits already have names,” The guard in a bright orange vest called over.  
Carl clutched Mr. Fuzzles to his chest. “I paid a dollar for the food, I’ll call them what I want!”  
Sheen leaned against the wooden fence. “This has been super exciting and all, but can we either go do something else or leave Carl here?”  
“We’re not leaving anyone! Nobody needs to separate from the group. C’mon Carl. Let someone else pet the bunnies.” Libby leaned over to grab Carl’s arm.   
The group ambled about looking at the brightly lit rides.   
“Oooh, the Scream-icane!” Sheen stared up at the roller coaster in wonder. “How many times do you think I can go upside down without puking?  
“You don’t actually trust that junk heap, do you?” Cindy asked.  
Sheen shrugged. “I trust a lot of things that seem suspect. That’s what makes my life so full of wonder!”  
“And why you almost got rabies that one time,” Carl added.  
“That thing cannot possibly be properly bolted to the ground!” Cindy gestured to the metal fixtures. “I’m surprised it’s not leaking transmission fluid everywhere.”  
“Roller coasters don’t use fluid; they rely on an air compression system-“  
“Oh my god, Neutron, did I ask?”  
Cindy and Jimmy started bickering about various mechanism and Sheen came between the two.  
“Ok, no coaster. Let’s just get some funnel cakes.”   
The food merchants did not pass Libby’s muster.  
“Uh-uh, how often do you think they change that oil?” She pointed at the fryer on the cart.   
“How often do you think they wash their hands?” Carl asked.  
“You kids know I can hear you, right?” The vendor asked.  
“Ok, no funnel cake.”  
Jimmy attempted to debate with the buskers who claimed the games were winnable.   
“All I’m saying is that the hoop is clearly elliptical rather than circular. The basketball physically will not fit. And don’t even get me started on the ring toss bottles!”  
After about an hour, Sheen’s annoyance seemed to overtake him. “What was the point of coming here if you guys aren’t even gonna try to have fun?”  
“I was having fun until I watched the Ferris Wheel go ‘round,” Carl said.  
“What else is it supposed to do? You all are first class buzzkills. We might as well go home.” Sheen crossed his arms and hunched his shoulders.  
“What do you want to do Sheen?” Libby asked.  
“Something fun! Hey, what’s that?”   
They were walking on the outskirts of the midway, and came upon an enclosed exhibit. It wouldn’t have seemed remarkable, save for the fact that it didn’t resemble any of the other attractions. The game and food vendors were all set up under yellow and pink vinyl tents. This structure appeared to be the only thing besides the port-a-potties that had four walls. They curiously approached the wooden sign.   
“Hall of Horrors,” Cindy read. “The scariest thing about this is that they probably charge ten bucks per person.”  
“Oh, the ticket charge is only four.” They all jumped as an unfamiliar voice called out from behind the sign. A tall man in a red top hat stepped out from behind the marquee. He wore matching red suspenders under a black and white striped coat with tails with matching pants. He gave the group a smile. “But the true price is facing your deepest fears.”  
“I’m already facing my fears, looking at that outfit,” Libby whispered to Cindy, and the two chuckled.   
“I’ve been all over the country collecting oddities that will tickle your curiosity and strike dread into your heart.”   
Sounds not unlike a music box playing at half-speed filtered out the windows.   
“Enter only if you believe you have the fortitude to-“  
“Are there strobe lights inside?” Carl asked.  
The man hesitated. “No, but there are immeasurable sights that will leave you breathless!”  
“What about fog machines?”  
“No.”  
Sheen pointed to the ticket booth beyond the sign. “Yes! Let’s go in!”  
“Come on Sheen, this looks pretty juvenile.” Jimmy crossed his arms.  
“We couldn’t go on any rides because Cindy said they were unsafe.”  
“They are.”  
“You’ve stated that repeatedly. Can’t we just go in? Worst case scenario: we’re out four bucks. Speaking of which, I need to borrow four bucks.”  
The strange man looked at them expectantly. “Are you ready to face your fears?”  
“I face my fears every time there’s an unnecessary cartoon reboot. Hit me with your best shot, homie!” Sheen ran up to booth.  
The man pulled a silver tipped walking stick out from behind him and pointed to where Sheen was standing. “Well, kids? What’ll it be?”  
The remaining four looked at one another and seemed to decide that they might as well join Sheen. Cindy rolled her eyes one more time before handing over a twenty-dollar bill to pay for tickets.  
The entrance to the so-called Hall consisted of gauze dangling from the door frame like streamer. The interior had dark wooden walls and floors, with sconces dimly lighting the way. They were greeted by a burly man in a burgundy vest and puffy shirt. He directed them to an area of the wall with bars in front of an alcove.   
“Greetings, my courageous visitors,” his deep voice boomed in the enclosed space. “Prepare for the fright of your life. Allow me to introduce you to our human spider.  
They peered inside to see a woman in a black leotard curled up in a heap. The guide clapped his hands and she jumped up on all fours. Suddenly, her limbs began to twist and she walked like a crab to a large rope net that covered the back wall. She maintained her bent postured to climb the “web” in an insect-like fashion.   
Carl gasped.  
Sheen clapped. “Can she teach me how to do that?”  
“Unlikely,” Jimmy interjected. “She most likely has an overabundance of cartilage in her joints that allows for increased flexibility.”  
The guide cleared his throat. “Moving on.” He ushered them down the hallway to the next alcove. “There’s no need to wait for a full moon, because here we have our own wolf man!”  
A dark figure leapt up to grab the bars, baring his sharp teeth. In the light, the fur on his shaggy face was evident. Carl and Sheen stepped back, hugging each other.   
“Don’t get too close! Once he has your scent, the bloodlust may take over.”  
Libby cocked her head to look closer. “Next time use a lace-front wig. Your edges are all over the place.”  
From behind the bars, the man’s shoulders visibly slumped.   
“Ok, let’s go.”   
They turned a corner to face a deep nook in the wall. Inside the bars, a bald man considered a tray of needles before selected one. He proceeded to insert it into his forehead. He turned to reveal that half of his body was covered with such needles.  
“Behold as Guillemet performs acupuncture on himself!”  
“Ugh!” Libby shuddered.   
“Yes,” the guide stepped close, “He’s spent decades studying the ancient art. He trusts no one else to perform the task.”  
Cindy walked to the front of the group. “So, are those forty gauge?”  
The guide and Guillemet exchanged a glance. “Um, I’m not sure.”  
“What happens if trips?” Sheen asked. “Would his face be paralyzed or would all the needles bleed?”  
“That did happened once,” Guillemet said. “I can’t wink my left eye anymore.”  
“Ok, no more conversing with the exhibits.” The guide hurried them past a tap-dancing armadillo, someone painting a landscape using only their feet, and a few other displays.  
“Can we say hi to the human skeleton?” Carl asked.  
“No, you’ve lost human skeleton privileges.”  
“Aw, man.”  
“Alright, the final exhibit: the thousand-year-old mummy.”  
“Where is it from?” Jimmy asked.  
“The Czech Republic.”  
“Really?”   
“I don’t know, kid. Just read the plaque about the curse and leave.”  
Libby pointed to an adjoining hallway. “What’s down there?”  
“Don’t worry about it.” He went to open the exit door.  
“We’re not finished yet!” Sheen shouted.  
“Oh yes you are. Thank you and have a nice night.”  
The five walked down the back steps.  
“What did you think Jim?” Carl asked. “The mummy was cool.”  
“They did a decent job making the wraps look aged, I’ll say that much.”  
Sheen ran up to him. “What do you mean? It wasn’t a thousand years old?”  
“Well, without running a test to determine the age, I can’t say for certain. But I think I can make the educated death that it’s not.” Jimmy shoved his hands into his pockets. “Technically you could mummify any deceased corpse. My aunt mummified one of her cats and keeps it in the guest bedroom.”  
“Ew,” Libby shuddered again. “That’s scarier than anything we saw tonight.”  
“Oh really.” The tall man who had ushered them into the exhibit appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. “Are you dissatisfied with my house of horrors?”  
The group quickly assured that they weren’t.   
Jimmy contemplated for a moment. “I would say that it met my expectations.”  
“Met your expectations.” The stranger slowly repeated the words.   
“Yes. I hypothesized that nothing would be truly frightening or unexplainable.”  
Cindy slapped her palm to cover her eyes. Libby stepped close behind Jimmy. “Dude, shut up.”  
“He asked a question. I’m just providing my reply.”  
The man considered his response. “Are you accusing my horrors of being fake?”  
“Of course not!” Cindy forced a chuckle. “He’s just joking. Let’s go, Neutron.” She grabbed Jimmy’s arm and tugged  
He ignored the gesticulations. “Not fake, per say. But explainable. For example: the so-called Fiji Mermaid was technically real. In actuality, it was a monkey skeleton attached to a fish tail. It wasn’t just some plaster sculpture, it was two real things combined to create a sensational hoax.”  
“Poor monkey,” Carl whispered.   
The man took a step closer to tower over the group. His thin face contorted into a tight smile. “You’re a smarty, ain’t ya, boy?”  
Jimmy finally seemed to realize what a mistake it was to continue this interaction. He hesitated before giving a small shrug.  
The man didn’t wait for a further response. “Yeah, I’ll bet you are. You got an answer for everything.” He leaned on his walking stick. “But not everything has a simple answer.” His brow furrowed into a scowl. “And I can promise you that at least one thing in here is very, very real.”  
For a moment- a very brief moment- Jimmy believed that he saw something unnatural in the man’s expression. It could have been a trick of the light. A burst blood vessel. Perhaps the result of overexposure to an open flame. Because there was no logical explanation why a human being’s eyes would turn red.   
Right?


	3. Bounded in a Nutshell

Darkness. Absolute darkness. Surrounded by all-consuming darkness. It could have been hours, it could have been minutes, but a speck of light appeared. It broke through the obscurity and slowly drifted through the expanse. Everything became weightless, as if under water. Maybe it was underwater.  
Floating. Everything felt suspended. The pressure began to build. Pushing. Stifling. Choking.  
Cindy jerked awake, gasping for air. She sat up and pressed a palm to her forehead. It felt cool and clammy. She brushed away the sweat and attempted to regain regulated breathing. Next to her in the bed lay Libby, the tip of her silk bonnet, peeking out from beneath the quilt comforter. Apparently, she hadn’t been awakened by the movement. The clock on the nightstand read that it was only half past five.  
It had been four days since the outing to the carnival and every night since, Cindy had suffered from nightmares. If you could even call them that. They weren’t nightmares in the typical sense. Most mornings she couldn’t even remember what they had been about. But they always left her with an impending feeling of dread.  
Cindy slipped out from under the covers and grabbed some clothing from her dresser. There was no point in trying to go back to sleep. She might as well take Humphrey for a walk.  
The large bulldog snuffled the grass as the duo turned down the street. She glanced around at the quiet street. The fog made it difficult to see much of anything, so it made sense that Humphrey would notice something before Cindy did.  
She turned to see what he was barking at, and was surprised to see Sheen walking up to them.  
He gave a small wave but didn’t make eye contact. “Hey Cindy.”  
“Hey.” She leaned over to scratch behind Humphrey’s ears to get him to stop.  
Sheen fiddled with his finger nails. “So, um, where’s Libby?”  
“She hopped a plane to Aruba. Where do you think, at my house.”  
“So, what are you guys doing today?”  
“We’ve got to do some stuff at her house this morning, but I don’t think we have plans after that.”  
He still wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Cool, cool. Do you want to meet for lunch?”  
This gave her pause. “Just you or-“  
“No, me and Carl and maybe Jimmy.”  
“Um, I’ll have to ask Libby but I guess we can.” She gave Sheen a once-over. His stance was slouched and his clothing wrinkled, which wasn’t unusual. But the dark circles under his eyes indicated that he was tired, and Sheen was never tired. He possessed an endless supply of energy that defied logic. If he was tired, then something was up.  
“Well, if she says yes, just text me.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away.  
Cindy looked down at Humphrey. The dog cocked his head and let out a little whine. She shook her head. “I know. No one can have a normal interaction in this town.”

When she got back home, Libby was in the kitchen pouring a cup of coffee.  
“How are you feeling?” Cindy went to the cupboard to retrieve Humphrey’s kibble.  
“My head still feels like a raccoon’s burrowing into my eye sockets, but aside from that, fine.”  
“Do you think it’s the pillows?”  
“I don’t know. I’ve slept on them before without feeling this bad.”  
She took a slow sip from the mug. “Mm. That is terrible. Where’s your sugar?”  
Cindy handed her the canister. “I saw Sheen when I was down the road.”  
“Like…intentionally?”  
“No. He invited us to lunch.”  
“Oh. Why?”  
“I don’t know.” Cindy called Humphrey over to the full bowl. “Have you been texting him?”  
“I mean, he has my phone number.” Libby focused on stirring the drink. “We chat from time to time. Is that so wrong?”  
Cindy shrugged. “He was just acting really weird. Like, what was he even doing wandering around so early?”  
“Who knows.” She moved to put the mug in the sink. “Momma sent me the to-do list for today. I think we can get it done before lunchtime.”  
“We’ve got an early start.”

By noon, the fog had given way to a dense heat that left the brows of the populace sticky with sweat. Except of course for Carl, who donned his portable breeze-hat.  
“You know you look ridiculous, right man?” Sheen leaned against the plastic table.  
Carl readjusted the brim of the baseball cap that housed the two small fans. “Don’t care. It keeps me cool, and this umbrella isn’t offering much in the way of sun protection.”  
A lightweight canvas umbrella sat in the center of the five tables in the concrete lot that passed for the dining area. The scent of burning oil wafted from the small building next to them.  
“Why are we at the ‘Chick’n Shack’?” Jimmy asked. “We never eat here.”  
“With good reason. The fries are too salty and the lemonade is too sour.”  
“It’s the only place with exclusively outdoor seating. I don’t want to risk anyone overhearing us.” Sheen checked his phone. “Libby and Cindy should be here in a minute.”  
“What is going on, Sheen? Are we planning a bank heist?”  
“No. Look, there they are.” He stood up to wave at a parking car. The doors opened and Libby and Cindy stepped out, each wearing dark sunglasses and a head scarf.  
“Oh, for pity’s sake!” Jimmy said as they walked up to the table. “What in the name of Dashiell Hammett is going on here?”  
“Sheen said to be discreet.” Cindy pulled off the scarf. “Besides, it’s a classic look.”  
Libby sat down on the wooden bench. “Please tell me we aren’t actually going to eat here. I already have a headache.”  
“And that’s precisely what I wanted to discuss.” Sheen said.  
“Um, what?”  
“So, has anyone else noticed that weird stuff has been happening since Saturday night?”  
Jimmy blinked. “Weird in what capacity?”  
“I don’t know about you, but I’ve been having bad dreams, Libby’s getting recurring headaches, and Cindy keeps having night terrors.”  
Cindy turned to glare at Libby. “You told him about that?”  
Libby crossed her arms. “Yes. Didn’t you hear him: everybody’s got stuff going on.”  
Carl pulled back his sleeve. “I’ve got a weird rash on my arms. And it’s not the usually irritant dermatitis.”  
Libby threw back her head. “Why would you show us that?”  
Jimmy shook his head and chuckled, “And you think these things are happening because, why, we went to a carnival?”  
“No, it happened because you ticked off the guy in a top hat.”  
“And you believe that a busker possesses the ability to give Libby a migraine?”  
“Maybe!” Sheen threw his hands up. “Strange things happening all at once must have a supernatural explanation! Also, the word busker is great and I will be peppering my speech with it. Busker.”  
“Didn’t you say that you had been having trouble falling asleep, Jim?” Carl asked.  
“No, I said that I had been staying up late reorganizing my workspace. I do my best brainstorming when organizing screws by size!”  
Cindy shook her head, “Neutron’s neuroses aside, it is a valid question. How would that guy-“  
“The busker.”  
She groaned, “How would the busker do any of that to us?”  
“He could have put a whammy on us.”  
“Just because someone works at a carnival doesn’t mean they can do magic for real, Sheen.” Libby said. “Besides, if he really put a curse on us, he’d need to have something of ours to affix is to.”  
“He’s got the money that Cindy paid with!” Carl shouted.  
“Keep your voice down.” Sheen whispered.  
“You can’t be serious.” Cindy crossed her arms. “You truly think we pissed off some random guy so much that he dug through the ticket booth, identified which bill I paid with, and put a curse on the five of us?”  
Sheen shrugged. “It makes as much sense as anything else.”  
“It really doesn’t.”  
Libby started to dig through her purse. “Not a lot of people went through the haunted house. I’m sure they didn’t get that much money. Just to be safe, let’s venture into the spirit world.” She slapped a small box onto the table.  
Cindy glanced at it. “I thought your mom took away the Tarot cards after we tried to have a séance.”  
“No, she took away my spirit board. And she was right to do so, you don’t wanna mess around with that noise.”  
“Ok,” Jimmy stood up, “You all have lost your minds. I expected this mumbo jumbo from everyone else, but Cindy, I expected better from you.”  
“What? We wanted to see if Libby’s house was haunted.”  
“Exactly! Any rational person knows that ghosts don’t exist and that fairground employees can’t put a curse on people. There’s a simple explanation for all of it.”  
“Oh yeah, Neutron?” Cindy stood. “And what is that?”  
“Minor trauma responses. You all got freaked out and now can’t sleep because of it.”  
“I don’t know, Jimmy,” Carl interjected. “I don’t usually get rashes just because I’m scared.”  
“A psychological reaction can manifest in different ways.”  
“Oh yeah, tough guy? And you weren’t affected in any way, shape, or form?” Libby asked.  
“I mean, I didn’t like when that guy got in my face. But I’m not dwelling on it. And that’s the solution, isn’t it?”  
“What is?”  
“In-vivo exposure therapy.”  
Cindy sat back down. “No.”  
Sheen scratched his head. “I’m confused.”  
Jimmy shrugged. “All you need to do to get rid of the headaches and nightmares is to face the trauma. Or in this case, what caused it.”  
“You don’t mean-“  
“We need to go back to the house of horrors.”


	4. Not Even Past

Four pairs of eyes stared at Jimmy in disbelief. Cindy was the first to break the silence.

"Neutron, you have finally lost your mind. I know I say that a lot, but this time it's finally come true."

"In what way?" Jimmy leaned over the table. "We'll go back to the carnival and do a second walk-through. Then we can see definitively that everything is normal."

"We?"

"You. The collective you."

"I don't Know Jimmy," Carl said. "That guy was really creepy. I don't want to get yelled at again."

"He didn't yell at us, he just put a curse on our minds and bodies."

Libby made a disgusted face. "It sounds so gross when you put it that way, Sheen. Besides, I don't wanna go back, even if we haven't been cursed."

Jimmy let out a huff in frustration before sitting down on the bench. "For the last time: there are no such thing as curses, magic spells, ghosts, or alligator living in the sewers!"

"What, so that website just lied?"

"Yes Sheen."

Sheen crossed his arms. "Hmph. Agree to disagree."

"That's not how that expression works!"

"Look, Neutron," Cindy interrupted, "I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for all this, but that doesn't mean we need to go back to the carnival. Do you have any idea how difficult it was to get permission to go the first time?"

Jimmy turned to glare at her. "Do you have a better idea?"

"No! Because I haven't given it that much thought. I've been dealing with four nights of poor sleep!"

"Because of a curse?" Carl asked.

Cindy rolled her eyes. "It's probably just a combination of staying up too late and too much screen time."

Jimmy snapped his fingers. "There you go. Tonight, everyone will endeavor to get a good night's sleep. If you wake up well-rested, then we can forget the whole thing. But if you all have night terrors and headaches, then we attempt exposure therapy tomorrow night."

"Whatever." Libby stood up and grabbed her bag. "C'mon Cindy, let's go get something for lunch that isn't deep fried." The two girls left the table.

The guys sat in silence for a minute. Sheen picked up a few fries and dipped them in ketchup.

Carl spoke up, "Guys, I don't mean to be a bummer, but my allergy medicine is wearing off."

Jimmy sighed. "You can rest at my house. Then we can watch that movie you like so much. The one with all the singing, dancing, and historical inaccuracies."

"Yippie!"

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Jimmy awoke the next morning to a text notification.

We leave no later than 7:15. You're paying for admission.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Cindy must have ended her phone call early, because the girls were waiting by the car when Jimmy, Sheen, and Carl walked up.

Libby turned to look at them. "Good, let's get this over with."

They all piled into the car.

"I read a fascinating article in Psychology Today about recurring nightmares."

"Can it, Neutron," Libby said through gritted teeth.

"Don't you want to hear about-"

"No."

"Well I'd like to hear about it," Carl said. "I had a dream last night that vines were growing all over my arms and legs. Then, when I woke up, there were red marks all over my skin."

"Ooh! I asked grandma for advice about curses," Sheen piped up. "She always wears a blue mal de ojo pendant for protection. Unfortunately, there's not much we can do about a curse after it's been cast, but she did give one solution: we have to burn the fur of a bear in the light of the full moon."

Carl gasped, "But the full moon was last week!"

"That's your issue with that suggestion?" Cindy shouted.

"Guys, let's not jump to ridiculous conclusions. Carl: it's ninety-seven degrees and humid out, you probably just have a heat rash. Sheen: stop attributing every bad thing that happens to some supernatural force. You really need to consume less horror content."

Sheen leaned over, "Oh yeah, what about that scary video you made us watch last week?"

"That was a documentary about climate change."

He crossed his arms. "Well it spooked me as much as that comic about the face-eating aliens."

Cindy turned to look at the boys for the first time that evening. "That brings up an interesting point, Neutron. You think curses and ghosts are unscientific, but plenty of people think only crazies believe in aliens."

"That is a different matter entirely. The statistical likelihood of humans being the only intelligent life in the universe is miniscule. But an invisible entity that lives among us with the soul of a deceased person? Pure hokum."

"That is so arbitrary!" Libby called from the front seat. "Who gets to decide what makes sense and what doesn't? And don't say rational people!"

"Um, guys," Carl squeaked. "Look out the window."

The car slowed to a halt right in front of the dirt lot that served as a parking area. The cones and tape were still in place, but it was suspiciously empty.

Libby scanned the area. "It is still open, right Sheen?"

Sheen pulled the crumpled flyer out of his pocket. "Yeah, it's supposed to be here until Sunday night."

Cindy opened the car door. "I didn't expect to see a huge crowd on a Thursday, but this is weird."

"Maybe something happened and they had to close early." Carl exited the car and the rest followed suit.

They walked up to the park entrance. No one sat in the booths, but the gates were open and unlocked. Inside the fence, no vendors or operators filled the space. Even the Ferris wheel stood still.

"Should we go?" Carl asked.

Jimmy slowly surveyed the empty manse. "How curious. It seems to be abandoned. I don't see a single person here." A smile slowly spread across his face. "How perfect."

"Ok, Jimmy lured us here to murder us. Everybody head for the hills!" Sheen yelled.

Jimmy rolled his eyes. "It's perfect because we can explore the house of horrors without the staff interacting with us."

"Isn't that trespassing?" Carl asked.

"They left the gate open and unlocked. Look, if someone catches us and we get in trouble, I will take all the blame."

Libby scowled at him. "Yeah, because that will work out great. I'm not going to jail for you, Neutron."

Cindy rubbed her arms in a nervous fashion. "I think maybe we should just leave."

"This will only take a few minutes to look around." Jimmy paused for a moment. "Unless of course you're too afraid to go."

Cindy stopped her ministrations. "What?"

He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I mean, we can leave if you're too fearful we can find another solution to the night terrors."

I'm not afraid of some stupid park attraction." Cindy scowled. "I just don't want to get arrested. Libby, don't you have emergency flashlights in your car?"

"Yeah, but-"

"You heard him. This won't take long."  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The groups stalked across the field to the shabby building and stopped in front of the wooden sign. Cindy and Libby held the flashlights, Sheen and Carl turned on the lights from their phones, and Jimmy put on his LED headlamp.

"Everyone laughed when I started bringing this everywhere, but now I'm the only one with two free hands."

Cindy turned to glare at him. "Should I even the playing field and break one of them?"

Libby laid a hand on her arm. "Cindy!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." She turned to Jimmy, "Sorry if I made you feel unsafe or whatever. But if you really wanted to be more advanced, why didn't you bring night vision goggles?"

Jimmy paused. "Um, because… Well… Enough stalling! We need to complete our search before the sun sets completely."

"Ok," Libby said, "But can we agree that if the doors to this thing are locked, we're going home. Breaking into a haunted house is crossing the line."

Sheen climbed the steps and tried the handle. The door creaked open. "Ha ha! C'mon guys."

"Of course." Libby made her way to the door. "I'm either gonna go to jail or murdered by the fake wolfman. What a night."

A faint light filtered through the shrouded windows. The group proceeded to switch on their lights and walked over to the first enclosure.

"The human spider isn't here. Do you think she's making another web?" Carl asked.

Cindy glared at him. "You don't actually think she lives in this tiny cage, right?"

"Um, no."

"Keep your voices down, guys. We don't know for sure that no one's here. Let's just read the inscriptions on the exhibits." Jimmy shined the light on the small silver engraving next to the bars. "This should demystify some of what you've seen. She's probably compared to a spider because her movements mimic an arachnid's broadly joined cephalothorax and abdomen. 'The Human Spider' as she was introduced is just a performer."

"We know that, Jimmy." Libby said, looking inside the bars.

"But did you know that true arachnids lack jaws, and instead of chewing, they inject digestive fluids into their prey before sucking its liquefied remains into their mouths."

The other four stopped to turn and stare at him.

Sheen winced. "Why do you have to say things like that, man?"

"That's more horrifying than anything we saw here." Carl said.

"Let's move on to the next exhibit." Libby led the way down the hall.

"I don't wanna look at a bunch of empty cages. We know it's all fake!" Sheen threw up his arms, causing the light to swing erratically. "Let's go down the hallway that guy said no to."

"Sheen, the point of this venture is to revisit what you saw that influenced your consciousness. Nothing down that hall is affecting your sleep schedule." Jimmy shook his head. "If anything, that would hamper our purpose."

"Plus, it's creepy," Carl added.

"Oh please," Cindy pointed her flashlight at the hallway entrance. "I bet they just keep additional props or something down there. I mean, everything here is fake, right Neutron?" The light settled on a large object next to a door. "What the heck is that?"

Jimmy started slowly down the hallway. "It looks like… a painting."

"So, we're going down the mysterious hallway now?" Libby asked.

Everyone else shrugged and followed Jimmy.

"This is how people disappear under mysterious circumstances," She whispered before going after them.

The object was in fact an enormous painting in an ornate gilt frame. Upon closer inspection, a small engraved plaque blended into the gold.

Sheen shone his phone's light directly on the image. "What the-"

A photorealistic clown painted in the style of a historical figure stared down at the group with a stern expression.

Carl stepped up to read the plaque. "'Blitzo the Clown.' Huh. Rough name."

Sheen started laughing. "Holy crap. Why would you go to the trouble of painting this, then hang it where no one can see it?"

"Maybe other visitors get to come down this hall, and we didn't because we made the guy mad?" Cindy posited. "We probably got the abridged version."

She reached for the door handle and turned it, with no movement. "Huh, this door is locked."

"Then let's leave it alone," Libby called out. "In fact, let's leave it all alone!"

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening came from behind them.

"Oh no, it's happening," Carl started pacing, "They're going to catch us and make me join the freak show!"

"That's what you're worried about?" Jimmy asked.

"Everybody shut up and hide!" Cindy whispered frantically. "Go!"

All four kids hurried down the hall, away from the clown painting. They weren't able to see the eyes follow them as they went.


	5. Roads Without Ends

The group of five raced down the hall, glancing behind them after every few steps. The hallway came to an end with two adjoining passages that forked off in opposite directions.

Carl put his hand on the doorframe. "This building seemed a lot smaller from the outside."

"There has to be a back exit, right? Which way should we go?" Sheen asked.

Jimmy stroked his chin. "There could be more than one exit, but we can't know for certain. We should split up and check down both hallways."

Libby scoffed, "We can't split up! That's how you get-got!"

"Yeah Jimmy, if we split up we might never come back together." Carl cried.

Cindy pulled out her phone. "Ordinarily, I would love to ignore Jimmy's plan, but it could work. We can just text each other if we find the way out. Does anyone else have cellphone service?"

Sheen shook his head in disgust. "Are you kidding me, Cindy! We are living in a real-life horror movie and everybody knows that people don't have phone service!" He held up his phone screen. "I can't believe that you'd even- oh wait, I do have service."

Cindy and Libby glared at him.

Sheen shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. "Ok, my bad. This is real life." He ambled over to where Libby stood. "C'mon Lib, let's go."

Libby rolled her eyes. "Fine." She turned to Cindy. "We'll let you know if we find a way out." The two walked down the hallway on the left.

Jimmy watched them walk out of sight before turning back to the others. "Let's keep moving." He led the way down the second hallway. Carl held his phone close to his chest and quickly followed.

Cindy rolled her eyes before walking behind them. "Great. I guess I'm on team dead meat."

When Carl whimpered, she responded, "Don't worry, if we get attacked by any Halloween decorations come to life, I'll protect you."

"Promise?"  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sheen shone his light on each door they came upon. "I probably should have charged my phone on the car ride here. I'm rockin' a cool thirty-eight percent. That should be fine, right?" He turned with a smile, only to see Libby leaned against the wall with her eyes closed. "Libs? Are you ok?"

She covered her face with her hands. "I just need a minute." Libby held her breath before slowly exhaling. It didn't stop her headache, but it did ease the pressure. "Alright, I'm good." She opened her eyes, but the corridor was empty. "Sheen?" She took a few steps and glanced around. "Sheen, I swear, if you jump out to scare me, I will beat you with this flashlight."

She came upon a recess in the wall, similar to the ones in the first hallway with the exhibits. Except this one had no bars. "Very funny. Come out now." She spun around and came face to face with the tall man dressed like a ringleader. "Oh shit! I'm so sorry."

He stared at her with an incredulous expression. "What are you doing here?"

"I knew this was a bad idea. When we came here last Saturday, my friends and I got really freaked out so we-"

"Who is this we? I only see one person sneaking around in an employees-only area.

She held up both hands in surrender. "I can explain!"

He grabbed her wrists. "Can you?"

Libby froze. "Let go of me.

"You knew what would happen if you came here, didn't you?"

"Don't touch me." Her voice came out gravelly bark.

"Or what?" He leaned down to stare into her eyes. "Your clueless friends can wander through life in a carefree stupor, but you know better. You're the only one to blame if something bad happens. Aren't you, Libby?"

Libby?

"Libby?"

She threw open her eyes.

Sheen stood in front of her with a concerned look on his face. "Did you fall asleep?

"What?"

He came closer. "Are you sure you're ok? You look shaken."

She stepped away from the wall and brushed past him. "Let's just get out of here."

"Do you want a minute to rest? I know you haven't been sleeping well."

She stopped so abruptly that he ran into her back.

"What I want, Sheen, is to get home in one piece. I want to take a shower and go to bed and not have to think about this wretched place ever again. Now. Let's. Go!"  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Carl, you have to stop humming."

Carl nervously looked around. "Do you think they can hear it?"

Cindy slapped her hand to his shoulder. "No, but I can hear it and it's driving me up the wall."

Jimmy turned around to glare at the two. "Am I the only one actively looking for an exit?"

Cindy let out a forced laugh. "Oh, is that what we're doing? Silly me, I've been searching for the lost city of Atlantis. No wonder we've been unsuccessful."

Jimmy's eyes narrowed. "Do you think you can be helpful for one minute? All you've done is make insensitive jokes and complain."

"Bold words coming from the guy who made us come to this stupid carnival in the first place!"

"Guys! You know that arguing triggers my nervous bladder." Carl whispered loudly.

Cindy covered her eyes with her hand. "This day just keeps getting worse."

"We don't have time to look for a bathroom and an exit!" Jimmy gestured to the expanse of darkness in front of them. "We can stop at a gas station on the way home."

"I don't know if I can hold it!"

"Oh, for pity's sake!" Cindy turned and threw open the nearest door.

"Now what are you doing?"

"What do you think? I'm trying to find Carl a bathroom." She marched back to a door they had already passed and opened it as well. "This looks like a dressing room. I bet there's a bathroom in here." She took a step inside.

"Are you crazy?" Jimmy rushed over. "Someone could be in there!"

Cindy's head popped out. "Someone could be out here too. Just wait here and knock twice if you hear anything suspicious." She closed the door behind her.

"This seems like it's going to end badly." The sound of footfall caused Jimmy to jump. Carl had taken off in the opposite direction. "Where are you going?"

He stopped running, but continued to fidget. "I'm going to search this way."

"You can't leave Cindy here."

"We'll come back for her!"

"We?"

Carl stopped his squirming. "Well, you're gonna come with me, right? You heard Libby: If we split up, we get-got."

"Can't you just hold it?"

Carl turned the corner, calling out, "That's how UTIs are made."

"I really wish you weren't so eager to share your various bodily ailments with me." Jimmy strode down the hall to follow Carl. When he turned the corner, however, the corridor was empty. "Carl?"

He slowly walked put an ear to the first door, listening for any activity. He was met with silence. "I think this counts as splitting up."  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Carl raced into the hallway, confident that Jimmy was right behind him. He felt bad about leaving Cindy alone, but she was tough enough to handle anything. Besides, this was an emergency. He spotted a closed door and reached for the handle. Locked.

It probably wasn't a bathroom. Unless, of course, it was the bathroom and it was occupied. Why else would a door be locked? He bent down to look under the door. No light came from inside. He decided that it would be best to keep moving. The next door also locked. Carl started to panic. Fortunately, the third door he came upon was unlocked. He opened it to reveal a dark room. He went inside to shine his phone light around. There didn't seem to be anything inside, except for something laying in the middle of the floor. He took a step closer to inspect it. The object turned out to be a black face mask. At least, it looked black. He bent over to pick it up.

The door swung shut.

Carl ran over and grabbed the handle. This time, the door was locked.  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cindy opened the dressing room door. "Ok, there is a bathroom in here, but the lights don't work. You'll have to-" She realized that she was alone. "Where did you go?" She gave a heavy sigh and walked into the dark corridor. "I ask those stupid boys to do one thing. One stupid thing. I'm gone for two freakin' minutes and they abandon me."

She turned down the connecting hall, and found a surprisingly well-lit alcove. It was empty, save for a round black table and threadbare rug. Curiosity overtook her, and she went over to examine the area.

"Huh. Do they use this whole place for the tour?"

"Cynthia!" The familiar sharp utterance hit her like a blast of cold air.

"Mom?" She spun around to see her mother stomp into view. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in the Caribbean by now?"

Her mother's foot tapped the floor in an impatient manner. "Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you? Then I'd never find out about your little escapades."

Cindy shook her head in confusion. " What? It's not my fault! We're just trying to find a way out of this place."

"Of course it's your fault. If you had just stayed home like you were supposed to, instead of gallivanting about with those miscreants, you wouldn't be having nightmares or navigating this abandoned building all by yourself. But you can't ever do what I ask, can you?"

Cindy was about to respond, when comprehension hit. "How did you know I'd been having nightmares?"

"Don't question me."

She stepped closer to grab Cindy's arm. Her nails dug into the soft flesh. "Why do you I have to watch your every step? Your judgement is terrible." Her glare intensified, darkening into a scowl.

"I asked-"

"It's not about you and what you want. I wanted a daughter who isn't a terrible disappointment. I can't even enjoy a week away without you ruining my peace. Did you really think I wouldn't find out about all of this?" She leaned closer to her daughter's face. The pallor of her visage seemed to turn gray in the shadows. "And now all of your little friends are being tortured because you can't think before you act."

Cindy tried to pull out of her grip. "This is not my fault!"

"You think not, do you?"

Cindy's mother tilted her head. The plains of her jaw seemed to flatten, her hair flattening into her scalp. Her ears disappeared. She smiled, revealing row after row of jagged teeth.

"Then whose fault is it?"

Cindy jerked her arm away and turned to run.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere, darling…" The shark-like creature appeared in front of her.

"Cindy braced herself, then kicked the creature in the side of the head. As it hunched over in pain, she flipped the table to block the passageway.   
Without looking to see if it had moved, she darted down the hall.


	6. Burnout and Rave at Close of Day

"For people so concerned with splitting up, you guys absconded pretty quickly," Jimmy spoke aloud, on the off chance that Carl or Cindy heard and rejoined him.

Not to distract from the creaking steps on the wooden floor. He knew, logically, that such noises were the result of aged wood warped over time and not for any horror-related reason. Why, so-called "spooky" sounds were fabricated due to their association with horror movies and haunted houses. People frightened themselves with such nonsense and then jumped at regular sounds. Still, there was nothing wrong with distracting oneself from the creaking.

Suddenly, those sounds were replaced by rapid footfall. Jimmy sped up, glancing around for a place to hide. He ducked inside an unlocked door and pulled the door towards him, leaving it open just a crack.

The steps were joined by frantic breathing and sobs. He glanced out to see Cindy wiping her eyes as she ran. He reached an arm out to grab her. She jerked back and raised a fist, before realizing who it was.

"Come in here," he whispered.

She slipped in beside him, still huffing. "Why did you leave?"

"Carl ran off and I tried to follow."

Cindy collapsed against the wall, struggling to catch her breath.

"Are you ok?"

"Shh!" She squeezed her eyes tight and held up a hand to silence him. "Do you hear anything?"

Jimmy listened at the door. Complete silence. "The coast is clear. C'mon, we need to-"

She stood up and put her hands on his shoulders. "Give me a minute."

He could feel his face flush at her close proximity. Fortunately, her eyes remained shut while she regulated her breathing.

"Did you get lost?" It occurred to him that he had never seen Cindy out of breath before. Her face looked ruddy, but the digits resting on his shoulders felt cold.

"I didn't know which way you went. We didn't exactly draw up a map of this place." She raised her head, but didn't make eye contact. "Ok, I'm good. Let's go."

She moved her hands to grab one of his arms. They stepped out of the room. With every step, a sense of unease overtook his senses. Something was amiss.

"Are we going the same way? The right way?" He asked.

"There is no right way."

He freed his arm from her grip. On impulse, he shoved his shoulder into her body and knocked Cindy to the ground. She fell with a thud before glaring up at him. Her vivid green eyes shone bright with rage.

"What the hell, Neutron!"

"Sorry, I thought-"

"You thought what?" She made to stand up. "I could have fallen through this rickety floor and gotten impaled on something!"

Ok, it was definitely Cindy.

"I- you were out of breath and acting weird." He held out a hand to help her up.

Cindy ignored it. "Well, pardon me for being winded! Maybe that's because I was abandoned while looking for a stupid bathroom for stupid Carl. Who you've now lost, by the way."

She brushed off her clothing and glared at him again.

"I didn't lose him, he wandered off."

"Whatever. Let's just find him and get out of this nightmare."

He noticed her hands were shaking. "Did something happen?"

"You mean besides being assaulted by you?" She stalked past him.

Perhaps he was letting his unease get the better of him if he was imagining trouble where there was none.  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

They walked in silence. Jimmy occasionally glanced at Cindy, but she focused on checking each door for Carl.

She finally opened one and a large body stumbled out onto the floor. "Geeze, Carl!"

"Finally! Didn't you hear me calling for help?" His face was bright red and covered with sweat.

Jimmy ran over to him. "No, I didn't hear anything. We've been searching all over the place."

"What do you mean?" Carl grabbed his hand and stood up. "I only went down one hallway. Weren't you right behind me me?"

"That's impossible." Jimmy looked around. "We're nowhere near the room Cindy checked out."

"The room that had a bathroom, by the way," She added.

Jimmy shot her an annoyed glance then continued, "This closet must be sound-proof for some reason."

Carl rubbed his arms. "Oh, I don't wanna think about that! My phone died so I had no light and it was terrifying. I just want to go home!"

"We are trying to accomplish just that. This place is like a maze. I don't understand how we've gone through so many hallways. It's possible that we've gone the wrong way, but-"

"Hey!" an unfamiliar voice barked.

"Oh crap, someone heard us." Jimmy squeaked out.

"Run!" Cindy grabbed Carl's arm and drug him down the corridor.

The three took off around the corner and saw one lone door at the end.

The turn was too sharp. "My head-light fell off!"

"Just leave it!" Cindy reached out for the handle.

They burst through the door, only to find that Sheen and Libby had just come through one right next to it. "How is this possible?" Jimmy surveyed the space they had just exited.

Libby struggled to catch her breath. "Who cares? Let's get out of here!"

Cindy darted over to her friend. "I think someone was following us."

"They're probably still following us! We can talk later." Jimmy pulled out his phone and turned on the light. "C'mon!"  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

All five made a mad dash across the dark field and through the gate. Suddenly, the floodlights came on, illuminating the parking are. The gang came to a halt when they saw someone leaning against Libby's car.

The stripe-clad busker smiled at the group. "You know, it's adorably naïve that you kids thought you could stomp around and speak at full volume without being heard. I mean, have you never played hide and seek?"

Jimmy took a step forward. "What do you want with us?"

Libby grabbed his arm. "Shut up, Neutron," she muttered under her breath.

"What he means, sir," Cindy struggled to make her voice contrite, "Is that we didn't mean stomp around in your house of horrors. We just had to…" she paused in thought. "We had to face our fears, so to speak."

"Face your fears," he repeated the words and seemed to mull them over.

"And did you do that? Did you face your fears, Cindy?"

The pleading smile on her face fell into a look of horror. "How do you know my name?"

"Well, your little friends did shout it about a dozen times. A better question would be: how do I know what your mother looks like?"

Libby leaned over to her friend. "What is he talking about?" Cindy just shook her head.

The man cocked his head. "Well you should know. You knew something was wrong, right Libby?"

Sheen moved to stand in front of Libby. "Did you do something to them?"

"Why don't you ask them?"

Carl spoke up, "Are you going to keep us here?"

The man gave a sigh and stood up. He walked over to where the group stood and snapped his fingers. Several figures emerged from the darkness. Their guide and the contortionist stopped on either side of the vehicle.

"We could keep you here if I wanted to. But, somehow I think it would be more entertaining to see what happens when you leave." He snapped his fingers again, and the two followed him to the gate. He turned one last time to wave.  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The engine clanked during the ride home. After twenty silent minutes, Carl finally spoke.

"Should we tell our parents?"

Libby snapped, "Tell them what? That we went to a dangerous carnival not once but twice? And now we think that the ringleader and his ghouls are hunting us for fun? What do you think they'll do first: drug test us, call a therapist, or ground us?"

"She's got a point," Cindy said. "No one is going to believe anything we say about tonight."

"So, we won't say anything." Jimmy shrugged, "None of what happened was probably genuine."

"I swear to god, Neutron, don't start."

"Did it seem like a genuine experience to you? Hallways that go on interminably. Soundproof rooms. Apparitions appearing out of nowhere. These are all the hallmark of a funhouse trick."

Cindy covered her face with her hands. "Ok then: why was the carnival empty? Why did they do the actually eerie stuff when we hadn't paid for a ticket?"

"I'm just hypothesizing that the whole thing was a misconception. A psychological experiment, if you will. I wouldn't be surprised if the so-called 'House of Horrors' was a grad student's thesis project on the psychological power of suggestion or something."

Sheen shook his head. "That's a real stretch, Jim."

"More of a stretch than a haunted sideshow?"

Carl turned around. "But Jimmy, wouldn't they have to get our permission to use any personal information for their thesis?"

Jimmy hesitated for a moment. "Ok, yes. But maybe it's an elaborate prank. Like those cartoons you enjoy where the villains are just conniving realtors dressed as paranormal beings."

Carl shivered. "There's nothing scarier than property exploitation."

"Um, ok. But guys, no matter what this was, it's just a case of mind over matter. Let's all go home and get some sleep. I'm sure in the light of day, all of the things that frightened us won't seem so real."  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jimmy was awoken the next morning by the buzzing from his nightstand. He felt around for his phone and checked the screen to see that the incoming call was from Carl.

"What could be so important that you needed to speak to me before seven a.m.?"

"Jimmy, look out your front window and tell me what you see."

Jimmy sat up and rubbed his head. "Carl, I already told you: my mom got rid of all the decorative gnomes after you tripped over that one and projectile vomited. If any remain, it was Sheen's doing."

"Just go look!"

The unnatural forcefulness of his voice gave Jimmy pause. He uprooted himself from the covers and trudged over to lift up the blinds. "Oh boy."

"Do you see it?" Carl asked.

"You mean the angry clown holding an umbrella? Yeah, I see it."


	7. When the Road Darkens

Jimmy threw on the first clothing he saw, then bolted down the stairs. His parents were in the living room with a collection of Tupperware.   
His mother looked up. “Oh sweetie, I hope we didn’t wake you up.” She walked over and kissed his forehead. “I’ve got to get an early start to take my entries for the fair.”  
“Um, no. I just wanted to see you off and, uh, wish you luck.” In actuality, He had been too preoccupied to remember that his parents were driving to the capital today.   
He grabbed his mom into a tight hug and glanced around her to look out the window. The monochromatic-clad clown stood next to the car, staring daggers at Jimmy.  
“Hey! How about I help you carry all this?” He grabbed the biggest container, prepared to use it as a bludgeon if need be.   
His mother walked to the door, oblivious to his panic. “How thoughtful. Now, your father and I will be gone for the majority of the day. We should be back in time for dinner. There are some leftovers in the fridge if you-“  
Jimmy half listened as they exited the house. He braced himself for whatever the figure was planning. But once they stepped outside, it had vanished like a puff of smoke. This gave Jimmy pause. Was it hiding? Had it moved to another yard? He glanced around.  
“Jimmy?” His parents stared expectantly.   
“Huh?”  
His dad gave him a pat on the shoulder.“You alright there, Jimbo?”  
“Yeah, of course,” He hesitated, “I guess I didn’t sleep well and my concentration is impeded as a result.”   
His parents exchanged glances. “Oh, well be sure to eat a hearty breakfast. That should help.”   
Once the containers had been securely loaded into the backseat, his dad climbed into the driver’s seat. “We’ll let you know when we’re headed back.”  
As soon as the car turned down the drive, Jimmy raced over to Carl’s front door.  
He hesitated for a moment, wondering how to explain why he needed to speak to his friend so early in the day. His vacillation was interrupted when the door opened to reveal Carl’s mom.  
“Oh, hello Jimmy. I thought I heard someone out here. Won’t you come inside?”  
Jimmy plastered a smile onto his face. “Good morning Mrs. Wheezer. I how I didn’t wake you.”  
“Oh no, we just finished our morning calisthenics. Would you like to come have some breakfast?”  
“Um…“ The Wheezer family diet was largely indigestible to anyone besides them. “I don’t mean to intrude.”  
Fortunately, Carl chose that moment to appear in the doorway. “Mom! Jimmy’s just here because I had a question about the summer reading questions.”  
“Oh, well, let me know if you want some cream of wheat.”   
Carl stepped onto the porch and closed the door behind him. He turned to glare at Jimmy and crossed his arms. “Well?”  
Jimmy averted his gaze. “Ok, I know this looks bad. There is a possibility that we both hallucinated-“   
“It’s feeling pretty real, Jim!”  
It was rare for Carl to raise his voice, so Jimmy realized how rattled he must be.  
“You’re right. We need to find out if the others have seen…” He wasn’t quite sure how to refer to the clown apparition. “If they’ve seen what we saw.”  
He glanced across the street and gestured for Carl to follow. They ran up the driveway, keeping an eye out for any intruders. Jimmy rang the doorbell then banged his fist against the door.  
After several firm knocks, the door flew open.   
A disheveled Cindy was tying the belt on her robe. “Neutron, do you have any idea how close I am to taking out a restraining order against you?”  
“We need to come inside.” He and Carl made to step around her.  
She raised both arms to block the doorway. “Not a chance. You’ve already triggered the video doorbell, why the hell would I let you in my house?”  
Both boys attempted to give an explanation, but spoke at the same time and produced an unintelligible babble.   
Cindy rolled her eyes, but then instantly noticed something behind them. She leaned around Carl to stare at the figure in her driveway. “What the actual f-“  
Jimmy grabbed her arm and dragged her into the house. “This is what we meant.”  
The three of them ran to the front window.   
“Why is there a clown in my yard? It is too early in the morning for there to be a clown.”  
“Is there ever an appropriate time for a clown?” Carl asked.  
Cindy grabbed Jimmy’s arm. “If that’s actually Sheen, I swear I will drown all of you in the toilet.”  
Jimmy let out a huff. “You caught me, Cindy. In the eight hours since we saw each other, I somehow procured a clown costume, applied prosthetics to Sheen’s face, and convinced him to lurk in your yard in broad daylight!”  
“Ok, genius, then who is that?”  
“It’s Blitzo the clown.” Carl gestured to the figure. “He looks just like that painting.”  
The sound of footsteps caused them all to jump. Libby stomped down the stairs, holding up her phone. “Sheen’s on a video call. He claims that there was a clown in front of his house.”  
Cindy pointed to the window, “He’s not the only one.”   
“Don’t panic guys. I dug up some provisions and I’m headed over now,” Sheen’s voice called out from the speaker.   
Jimmy took the phone out of Libby’s hand. “I don’t think that’s a great idea.”  
“Too late. Ow! Stupid lawn gnomes. Get out of my way.”  
Libby walked over to the window. She let out a sigh, then turned away. “Great. Clown in the yard. We’re officially living in a horror movie.” She crossed her arms. “That means I’ll bite it first. Unless of course it’s one of those movies that tries to subvert that trope, in which case Carl dies first.”  
“What?” Carl yelped.  
“Guys, no one is going to die,” Jimmy interjected.  
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Cindy glared at him, “I’m still debating whether or not to kill you.”  
“The skeptic always has the most gruesome death, Jim,” Sheen called out. “I’m talking full-on decapitation or mauling.”  
“How is this my fault?” Jimmy walked away from the window.  
“You made us go back to that stupid carnival. I’d rather have a headache than be murdered by some creep in a Halloween costume!” Libby yelled.  
“Good thing there’s no such thing as a murderous clown, right Jimmy?” Carl chuckled, nervously.  
“No. Historically, several serial killers have dressed as clowns.”  
Carl’s face fell. “Oh.”  
“Shut up, Neutron. Unless you have some brilliant plan to deal with this situation, you don’t need to say anything.”  
“Guys!” The phone screen buzzed, “Open the back door! I climbed over the fence.”   
Cindy rolled her eyes again, then walked to the rearmost door of the house.   
Sheen jogged in, stopping to catch his breath. “I brought a necklace that I made out of garlic. I poked myself with the needle a few times, so there might be some blood on it.”  
Libby gave him a disbelieving look. “It’s a stranger dressed like a clown, not a vampire.”   
“I’m not a clown expert. What’s their natural enemy?”  
“A bottle of seltzer, maybe?” Carl questioned.  
Sheen stroked his chin in concentration. “Maybe. Have you ever seen a clown fight an army of raccoons?”  
“What the hell are you talking about?” Cindy shouted.   
“Um guys,” Jimmy raised a hand. “Not to speak out of turn, but he’s gone.”   
All five moved to look out the window. They stood in silence, searching for any sign of the specter.   
Sheen broke the silence. “He’s gone for now. But he knows where we live.”  
“What should we do?” Carl asked.   
“Maybe someone will see him and… I don’t know, resort to mob justice?” Libby said.   
“Oh no,” Carl moaned. “I think I’m going to be sick.” He covered his mouth with a hand and ran out of the room.  
“Huh.” Sheen turned to look at Cindy. “You did lock the back door, right?”  
“Yes, and don’t think I didn’t notice that you mangled the bushes.”  
“You can be mad at me later, we need to come up with a plan in case he’s just hiding.”  
Sheen sat down on the couch.   
“Well, do it quickly. I’ve got to go to my house.” Libby said.   
“Yeah,” Jimmy added. “If I’m going to figure this out, I need research material.”  
“I don’t think any of us should go out alone,” Sheen shook his head. He stood up and walked over to where Libby stood. “Take Carl with you.”  
“No. I’ve got chores to do. I don’t want him in my home.”  
“Libs, if you have to clean, you absolutely want him there. The Wheezers are total neat freaks. They have a different steam mop for each room in their house. They alphabetize their sponges. You’ll be done before you know it.”  
“How do you… How do you alphabetize a sponge?”  
Sheen shrugged. “I haven’t a clue, but they figured it out.” He reached out and grabbed her hand. “Please just take him with you. If he has something to occupy his thoughts, he won’t panic as much.”  
Carl walked back into the room, “I’m fine. It was just a false alarm.”   
Libby considered this for a moment before pulling away. “Fine. C’mon Carl! You’re riding with me.”  
“Ok then,” Jimmy said. “Sheen, I guess, come with me.”  
The two headed to the door. “Cindy, lock the door behind us.”  
“Don’t expect me to let you back in.”  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jimmy grabbed his laptop case and stuffed several notebooks into the exterior pocket.   
“Now do you believe that we’re cursed?” Sheen asked.  
“I believe that we have a stalker. Clearly, we underestimated that carnival busker. Maybe he put a tracking device on Libby’s car and followed it to the neighborhood.”  
“But how did it know how to find our houses?”  
Jimmy hesitated for a moment. “I don’t have a viable hypothesis yet. But that’s why I need to do a thorough investigation.”  
“Well, hurry up and grab your stuff. If something happens to Cindy while she’s home alone, her mom will blame us for it.”   
“Why don’t you go down to the kitchen and get us some snacks. Carl and I didn’t eat breakfast. Somehow I don’t think Libby will help him.”  
Sheen shrugged and left the room.   
Jimmy looked around for the correct external hard drive, when a familiar ringtone began to sound. He scrambled to grab the phone before the ringing stopped.   
“Dad?”  
“Hey, Jimbo. How goes it?”  
Jimmy had no intention of telling the truth. “Um, fine. Did mom get her pies delivered?”  
There was a pause on the other end of the phone. “Well, we haven’t made it to the fairgrounds quite yet. We’ve had some car trouble.”  
“What?” Jimmy felt his stomach drop. What if that creep had done something to the car? Everyone was parked by the road, they could have been tampered with and no one would have noticed in the middle of the night. “Are you and mom ok?”  
“Yeah, I think the engine just overheated. We’re having it towed right now. Your mom is on the phone with the people who collect the entries.”  
“Oh. Alright.”  
Jimmy’s tone must have given away his distress. “I don’t want you to worry, Jimbo. I’ll call as soon as we’re back on the road.”  
“Ok, Dad. Just… please be safe.” Jimmy hung up the phone and fought to dispel the growing panic. Surely, he thought, it was a coincidence that his parents’ car happened to break down the same morning that a clown appeared in his front yard. Stranger things had happened. Nothing immediately came to mind, but that wasn’t an indication of erroneousness.  
Jimmy made his way down the stairs to retrieve Sheen.   
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

They knocked on the front door and called for Cindy. She opened the door with a smug expression on her face. “What do you know, now there’s two clowns outside my house.”  
“How long did it take you to come up with that one, Vortex?” Jimmy pushed past her.   
He walked into the living room and set his bag down on the coffee table.   
“I need to go check the pH balance of the pool. Who’s gonna be on clown watch?”  
Jimmy ignored her and started pulling supplies out of his bag.   
Sheen shrugged and made to follow her.   
“Just to be clear: I have no idea what to actually do if that guy shows up again.”  
Cindy shook her head and went to the small shed next to the house. She pulled a ring of keys out of her pocket and unlocked the door. She pulled a large metal rake from inside and handed it to Sheen. “Use your imagination.”   
She retrieved a white bucket and closed the shed. Grabbing the handle with both hands, she carried it to the edge of the pool.   
Sheen watched as she pulled out several white bottles and a clear plastic vials. He walked over to a nearby lounge chair set the rake on the ground next to him. “So, have you heard from Libby?”  
Cindy scoops up a cup of pool water. “Yes.”   
When she didn’t elaborate, he pressed forward. “Well?”  
“She said something about wanting to shove Carl’s hand down the garbage disposal, so you know, nothing out of the ordinary.” She glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “She’s going to let me know when they leave.” She added something to the vial that made the water turn green.  
“You know she told me about your date, right?”  
Sheen let out a groan. “I’m sure she told everyone about the worst date ever.”  
“No, just me.” She shrugged, “I may have told some people.”  
“Why are you bringing this up?”  
Cindy picked up one of the bottles and measured out some white crystals. “Because I know you’ve been talking again. Do you really think you’ve upped your game since then?”  
“This is none of your business, Vortex.”  
“Uh, I think it is when I have to pick her up because you climbed out of the bathroom window and left her all alone.”  
“I couldn’t get the clam chowder off of my pants. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”  
“Did it seem like a good idea to avoid her for the next week?” Cindy asked in a bemused tone.  
Sheen looked away. “No. I just didn’t know what to say that would make it better. I still don’t.”  
“What were you doing ordering clam chowder at an Italian restaurant, anyway?”  
“Clearly, I make bad decisions.   
Cindy decided to change the subject. “Do you really think that we’ve been cursed?”  
Sheen remained silent.  
She didn’t look up from her ministrations. “I’m not asking as a joke. I really want to know what you think. Unlike Neutron, I don’t think all supernatural stuff is bullshit.”  
“Spider,” his voice came out in a strained murmur.   
“Oh, it’s probably just a wolf spider. There are some webs on the side of the-“  
“No, look!”  
Cindy looked at Sheen, who was pointing at the side yard. She turned to see a woman standing inside the fence. A thin smile spread out across her angular face.   
The woman crouched down, and her arms bent in an unnatural fashion until she was perpendicular to the ground. Sheen and Cindy rose to their feet.  
The three stared at each other in silence for an indeterminate amount of time.   
The woman did not blink once.  
Finally, Cindy leaned ever so slightly towards Sheen’s shoulder.  
“Run.”  
The woman leapt towards them as the bolted towards the house. Cindy threw open the door. As soon as the two were completely inside, they threw themselves against the door. A loud banging noise filled the room. Cindy struggled to turn the deadbolt, her hands were shaking so much.   
“A little help here, Neutron!”  
Jimmy wandered in the room. “What’s going-“  
“Go into the hall closet and grab the metal thing that looks like a cane!”  
He did as she directed, bringing the device to her. “What is it?”  
“A security bar.” She positioned it under the door knob. “This way she can’t get in even if the lock breaks.”  
“Who can’t get in?”   
“The spider lady.” Sheen leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. “She just, like, appeared in the back yard then charged at us.”  
“You mean the contortionist we saw?”  
Suddenly, the thumping noise stopped. It was replaced with a high-pitched scratching.  
Cindy covered her mouth with a hand. “Oh my god.”  
“What?” Jimmy looked confused.  
“What do you mean, ‘what?’ Do you not hear that?”  
“I don’t hear anything except your washing machine beeping.”  
Sheen and Cindy exchanged an alarmed look.   
“Dude, seriously. You don’t hear scratching?”  
Jimmy shook his head. “I swear, I don’t hear any sort of scratching.”  
They all jumped at the sound of a ringing phone.  
“Ok, that I heard.” Jimmy pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. “Huh, it’s my dad. Hello?”  
“Howdy Jimbo. Good news: One of the county fair people came to get your mom’s entries. We let them keep one of the pies as a thank you, but that still leaves four-“  
“That’s great dad,” he interrupted. “But what’s going on with the car.”  
“Oh, it’s just something with the radiator. They’re going to have to order the part it needs. It’ll be here tomorrow though, so your mom and I are just going to rent a motel room for the night.”  
He walked into the living room. “So, you’re not going to be home tonight?”  
“Hold on son, your mother wants to talk to you.” He could hear the phone changing hands.   
“Hi sweetie! Did you have lunch?” His mother’s voice trilled.   
“Mom, you guys are spending the night there?”  
“Don’t worry, there’s plenty of leftovers in the fridge for you to have for dinner.”  
“I’m not worried about food, mom, I’m just worried about you guys.” Jimmy closed his eyes.  
“Oh, don’t worry, Jimmy. We’ll be home in time for lunch tomorrow. Well, maybe a late lunch. Hey! I know: why don’t you spend the night at one of your friend’s house? That way you don’t have to be by yourself.”  
Jimmy started to protest, until he turned to see Sheen and Cindy staring out the window.  
He smiled. “You know what? That sounds like a great plan.”


End file.
